As the political arena heats up in 2024, attention is naturally drawn to the statements and positions of the key players, including the incumbent President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump. Debates over their promises, past record, and contentious decisions spark numerous inquiries. Notably, people frequently question who was more responsible for the nation’s ballooning debt and who made worse blunders in handling inflation. Not to mention, a well-worn topic – whether Kamala Harris is a communist, a notion often posited by Trump. Let’s revisit the top 10 contentious fact-checks of the year in a reversed order, tackling misconceptions one by one.
Trump recently made the startling claim that Harris has plans to ‘forcibly compel’ doctors to administer ‘castration drugs’ to children. Trump, unfortunately, seemed unable to point to any specific policy supporting this preposterous allegation. Harris’s record indicates support for anti-discrimination protection for LGBTQ+ individuals, but there’s zero evidence she’s ever sought to force doctors into providing specific medical care to minors.
Harris’s stance on prisoners’ right to access gender-affirming surgery has come under scrutiny. However, it should be noted that her position aligns with federal law and court rulings that mandate inmates should have access to necessary medical care—which includes gender-affirming surgery for those who need it. Even the Federal Bureau of Prisons under Trump’s term acknowledged these legal requirements.
Harris’s comments on Project 2025 and its implications on access to IVF and contraception have been another flashpoint. Contrary to what Harris suggests, the project does not directly call for restraining access to IVF or regular contraceptive methods. However, it does push for limitations on the availability of some emergency contraceptives through no-cost insurance coverage and includes language supporting rights for fetuses and embryos, which, according to legal experts, could jeopardize family planning methods.
It’s no secret that Biden and Harris have had a rocky time handling inflation. Trump didn’t hesitate to pile on the criticism, claiming that Harris’s ‘tiebreaking votes’ led to ‘the worst inflation in American history.’ Trump’s inflation figures, though dramatic sounding, aren’t exactly accurate. Of course, Biden’s administration has indeed presided over alarming rates of inflation, peaking at around 9% in summer 2022; however, worse episodes happened in the past, namely during the 1970s and the early 1980s.
Trump has asserted several times that he ‘never mentioned’ intentions to terminate the Affordable Care Act. This is a laughably erroneous claim as he repeatedly backed efforts to scrap this legislation, among them, the failed attempts by congressional Republicans. Trump also took steps to slash funding for components associated with this Act, such as its marketing, outreach, and enrolment assistance.
During a debate, Harris presented questions about US military placements in combat zones. The Vice President hailed Biden’s choice to withdraw troops and declared, ‘There is no military personnel in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone worldwide, for the first time this century.’ This statement doesn’t match reality as there are numerous US military service personnel based in areas globally that are categorized as combat zones, facing hostilities from foreign enemies. Apparently, such misleading remarks seem to be habitual for Harris.
Alluding to his infamous January 6th speech, Trump made a dubious comparison between the crowd size at that event and Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. According to the House select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, the crowd amassed at his speech stood at 53,000, far from reaching a quarter of the quarter-million present at King’s historic address. Trump’s attempt to amplify his gatherings rings hollow when compared to these factual figures.
In one of his outrageous theories, Trump has attempted to label Harris a communist and a Marxist. But when we question experts on this matter, none supported Trump’s wild assertions. Harris, despite her questionable policy stances, has never endorsed the expropriation of private homes or businesses.
Harris’s role relating to immigration issues has been another contentious area. Critics targeted Biden for supposedly granting Harris the title of ‘border czar’, overseeing U.S. border enforcement. But in reality, Biden had tasked Harris with identifying and addressing root causes driving migration to the US, and in no way given her the responsibility to regulate entries at the southern border.
Last, and certainly not least, is Biden’s twisted play on the numbers concerning the national debt. Biden argued that Trump’s administration ‘added more to the national debt than any presidential term in American history.’ Treasury Department data did show a substantial debt increase under Trump’s term, a whopping $7.8 trillion, with Biden’s addition tallying a bit less at $6.7 trillion. Yet conveniently, Biden chose to omit that the current debt trend under his administration would soon surpass Trump’s. What’s more, attributing the national debt to specific presidents is misleading as much of it originated from long-standing, bipartisan legislation, particularly ones shaping Social Security and Medicare.